Generally, global electricity consumption and production continue to increase at a significant rate. Much of the attendant demand originates from the residential and commercial sectors. The impact of these sectors on power grids could become even more pronounced in coming years given projections of sharp increases in demand.
Trends are thus developing to design and operate residential (or commercial) appliances with an increasing emphasis on energy efficiency. Governments have come to mandate strict energy efficiency standards, and some solutions have been proposed to reduce or eliminate idle mode consumption and/or to analyze appliance-specific energy use data. However, current mandates and solutions are inadequate for a variety of reasons, not the least of which include: older, “grandfathered-in” appliances that waste too much energy in standby modes; a tendency for malfunctioning appliances to escape timely detection; appliance-specific solutions that lack universal applicability; and a need to employ technological infrastructure that might be inaccessible or unavailable to many residences or commercial establishments.